How to be healthy even when you’re busy

Working odd hours means Fox Sports presenter Megan Barnard has become a pro at creating a healthy routine.

Photo: Dylan Robinson

Like most of us Megan Barnard knows how precious time can be. The Fox Sports presenter co-hosts the daily Rugby League news show NRL Tonight, and delivers the latest and breaking news from around the grounds on Thursday Night League and Friday Night Footy. So fitting in time to exercise, eat well and unwind has become an art form. Here’s what you can learn from the multi-tasking presenter.

Confession: I love my footy, but there’s only one thing I love more– and that’s routine. I have a bit of an unusual weekly wellness ritual which I’ve been doing for years now. It’s foot reflexology and I swear by it for stimulating your organs, getting your blood flowing and keeping you feeling 100.

OK, it’s safe to say I’m a creature of habit. I like to start my day off right. No, you won’t find me sipping hot lemon water or doing a 20-minute ‘beditation’. My morning habits are a little more relatable and lot less hard work. I have coffee, brekkie and sit on my laptop reading the news, flicking between different sites. I eat the same breakfast every day (muesli, yoghurt and berries), which my mates pay me out for. I’ll even order it when I go out for brunch.

It’s funny because a regular schedule isn’t something I get at work as a Fox Sports presenter. It’s busy. It’s energetic. It’s late nights. It’s high pressure. But all those things I love I about the job, can also make it hard to maintain healthy habits. I work late most nights, so I don’t get out of bed until about 9am. I’m the first to admit, I’m not immune to the battle between sleep and exercise. For me, I need to find a balance between the two so I’m alert and can perform and deliver when I’m on the air.

Exercise does help with that. It’s also a way to manage stress and I find it really therapeutic. I’ve recently started on the F45 bandwagon, which is really working for me. If I can exercise efficiently, I’m a happy woman. I’m big on sneaking in incidental exercise to keep moving - I’ll walk somewhere instead of jumping in the car, shoot hoops or play beach cricket if I’ve got time.

Photo: SuppliedSource:BodyAndSoul

My best tip is to make sure any exercise you’re doing is fun. I know, for me, if it’s not enjoyable, then I’m not going to go back. You’ve got to be clued up on yourself – I know I like working out in a group rather than solo, so you won’t ever catch me going for a run.

I am lucky that with fitness and work, I’m naturally motivated. I love what I do and love sport. That’s got to have something to do with growing up in a sporting family, in Australia’s sporting capital of Melbourne. I was always playing something as a kid - AFL, cricket, golf, tennis or basketball.

I find it useful to remind myself, you are what you eat. It’s always drilled into me from mum. I’m pretty healthy through the week. I love heading to Pure Wholefoods in Manly for one of their amazing salads with haloumi or tofu. Dinner will be at work, again, usually a salad, but this time with a meat protein in it. The weekends are when I’m more relaxed and enjoy going out for dinner.

When it comes to health I like to live by the motto, something is always better than nothing. I’m all about living a relaxed lifestyle and not overdoing anything – which applies to green juices and sled pushes, too. Some nights you will find me on the couch, with a bowl of cookie dough ice cream in my lap watching mindless TV. That’s a relaxation routine, I’ll never give up.

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